VAMPIRE by Kevin Sullivan
From The Bestselling Author Of THE BUNDY MURDERS Comes The Story Of 'The Vampire of Sacramento'
VAMPIRE is the tale of a diabolical, homicidal madman running amok, mutilating and murdering the unsuspecting residents in the quiet neighborhoods of Sacramento, CA. His diabolical and unrelenting desires, not just to kill his victims but to drink their blood, unleashed a terror within the city unlike anything the residents had ever known.
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VAMPIRE: The Richard Chase Murders is an in-depth look into the life and disturbed mind of a killer, his family, and his many victims, the living as well as the dead. Within these pages you'll discover what it was like for the police, and what a difficult job they had finding a killer they knew wouldn't stop until he was apprehended. It was a race against time, in a series of murders that would stun even the most hardened investigators. It is the story of a city under siege, held captive by the man whose appetite for blood could not be satiated.
About the book:
By the time Richard Trenton Chase graduated high school, everyone knew he was strange. But no one had any idea how bizarre he'd become, or what dark impulses were flowing through his troubled brain. The transformation from the outwardly strange young man to the diabolical killer he ultimately became, was gradual and would not become known until it was too late. First it was the killing of small animals and birds, and the drinking of their blood. However, when these sacrifices failed to satiate his needs, Richard Chase would seek out the highest form of life, and the city of Sacramento, California would react in horror to the hideous murders and mutilations committed by his hands. For those living in the quiet neighborhoods where the murders occurred, it was nothing less than a time of terror until the fiend was captured.
From the book:
“On August 3, Richard Chase was sitting in the hot sun along a rocky area of Pyramid Lake, Nevada, some two hundred miles from Sacramento. He was completely naked and was covered in blood. He wasn’t in a hurry, just sitting there. Approximately one-half to three-quarters of a mile away (and across the lake) sat his Ford Ranchero. Inside the vehicle were two rifles, a .22 caliber and a Marlin .30-30 lever-action. Both weapons had blood on them, as did most of the inside of the vehicle. There was a white bucket, too, which contained blood and a liver.”
Reviews:
"The Richard Chase Murders by veteran true crime writer and historian, Kevin Sullivan, is fraught with emotion and detail. I always admire an author who dedicates their project to the victims, and tells about who they were and not just the crime against them. This is a well-written book that was researched in person and facts gleaned from key players during and after the Chase murders. A must have book for all true crime enthusiasts or book collectors."-- RJ Parker, award-winning true crime author and publisher at RJ Parker Publishing Inc.
"Sullivan has written a fascinating account of an abnormal psyche of egregious proportions, and captures the very essence of Richard Chase's monstrous crime spree the citizens of Sacramento will never forget."--Gary C. King, author of BLOOD LUST and DRIVEN TO KILL
"Although it's been over three decades since Richard Trenton Chase went on his killing spree, he still stands out as one of the most bizarre serial killers in America. Kevin Sullivan pulls out more information from interviews and old files than has been previously published, which will interest true crime fans and criminologists alike. His painstaking account presents the evolution of a delusional coldblooded killer."--Katherine Ramsland, bestselling author of PSYCHOPATH and THE IVY LEAGUE KILLER
From the author:
Writing the story of Richard Chase was both fascinating and appalling. Fascinating, because once the horrific murders began, it was literally a race against time for the police as they worked tirelessly to stop the slaughter, and appalling, due to the fiendish nature of the crimes being committed by this strange, and for a time, very elusive killer. Visiting the sites of these murders, and following closely the trail of Richard Chase in the spring of 2012 while conducting research for the book, gave me at least a “feel” for what it must have been like during that hellish period in Sacramento's history.
Dear Mr. Sullivan, I am a teenager in Illinois who just finished reading your book “Vampire”. Now before I say anything, obviously I’m aware that I’m not completely informed on everything that happened in the Richard Chase murders. I wasn’t there and I don’t know every detail. But from my understanding Richard Chase was just as much of a victim as his own victims. Chase wasn’t a “monster” he was an incredibly sick man who was neglected and wasn’t given the help he needed. He was a paranoid schizophrenic who didn’t receive proper treatment and the outcome all of this was death. His mother took him off of his meds and never reported his crazy behavior to anyone. I blame the deaths on his parents, peers and anyone else who knew he needed help and did nothing about it. I enjoyed your book and respect you as an author, but I wish you wouldn’t have made Richard look like such an awful and horrible person. Of course he did awful and horrible things, but he was not a sane man. Thanks.
Hi Sierra!
First, let me say how nice it was of you to contact me. It’s not every day that someone so young contacts me about one of my books, so when it happens I take notice. 🙂
Now, as to Richard Chase as monster: I just did a word search in the Chase book for the word “monster” and it came up zero. Of course, I have used that term to describe others serial killers (Ted Bundy, for one), but I didn’t use it about Richard Chase. That said, I understand that you believe I was a little heavy-handed in my treatment of him. And so, I will touch upon things I pointed out in the book about him:
First, Chase was in fact a “victim” of mental illness, without question. And you may recall where he was begging his mother for help; and believe me, that was a real call for help. Chase really believed his blood was drying up, and overall, the man was a basket-case. I get that, and I have compassion for him in that regard. However, he was not legally insane; that is, he understood that he was committing acts that were criminal, and that if he was caught, he would be arrested. And knowing this, he planned and maneuvered his life and killing in such a way so as not to get caught. This clearly showed that, despite how mentally ill he was, he still possessed the ability to know right from wrong, and that if he were caught, there would be a price to pay. Legally insane folks don’t think this way. That said, you and I both know he was as crazy as a loon! No doubt about that. And even in his medical record, it states how mentally ill he was. So there is a difference between what is legal insanity and what is not legal insanity.
Secondly, it’s true his mother (who had severe issues herself) took him off his meds, and when she did so, she guaranteed there would be an eruption in the mind of her son. And this time it would become homicidal. However, there can’t be any blame (as far as I can tell) that should be placed at the feet of the father or the sister, or any member of Chase’s extended family for what he became. As far as I’m concerned, his mother can be faulted for the stopping of the meds, but that’s it. It was an egregious mistake Mrs. Chase made, and that’s just the way it is.
Lastly, I do have compassion for people struggling with mental illness, as I had a brother who lost his mind in the late 1960s and early 1970s because of all the hallucinogenic drugs he had taken. He too became a paranoid schizophrenic and he never came back from it. So as I was writing the book, I understood the problems Chase was facing, and also the terrible situation the rest of the family had to endure. And there is this: Most mentally ill people do not commit violence, mush less murder. My brother wasn’t violent, but we were very aware that he could go down that road, so we had to watch him. So the actions of Richard Chase – the murders – is a rare thing indeed for such folks. And for that, I have NO compassion. Nor should anyone.
Anyway, it’s been good talking with you. And let me say that you, being a teenager and reading a book like “Vampire” is unusual. I too was unusual in as much, as I read my first adult true crime book when I was 10 years old lol! So we have some things in common. 🙂
Thanks again for the contact!
Kevin